


The Itch

by theregoesjodariel



Series: Jodi's Lapidot Trash Zone [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, I wrote this in like an hour, Light Angst, i came up with a sad explanation for how limb enhancers work and i had to use it in a thing, this is my first fic in a while so i'm rusty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 16:27:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18392075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theregoesjodariel/pseuds/theregoesjodariel
Summary: Light enters the gem.Lapis and Peridot build something new.





	The Itch

**Author's Note:**

> Well, hello there, AO3. It's been a hot minute.  
> The only other thing I've ever posted on here was the first chapter for a Marvel fic a few years back, when I still thought I was cis and really had no motivation. Look at me now.  
> So, yeah, this is a one-off thing. It's my first time truly writing something with SU characters, so I apologize if any of it comes off as clunky.  
> If you wanna follow and/or talk to me, just drop me a line-- I'm theregoesjodariel on both Twitter and Tumblr and gleefully accept any messages.

Light enters the gem, moving across its lattices at a speed not even a Diamond can fully comprehend.

The light refracts. Its rays bend through the gem, perfect imperfections. Slowly, those lines of light come together, forming a body.

This is how a gem is born. A conscious manifestation of light, in every sense of the words.

A gem’s body is always their ideal shape; to  _ themselves _ , somewhere deep down, they consider themselves perfect. Once the body is formed, it is, until a point at which the gem reforms, pretty much set in stone.

These are among the first things taught to Peridot coming into existence. As a kindergartener, she is expected to know them like the back of her hand, and she most certainly does. To her, those words are gospel.

* * *

 

“We ready, P-Dot?”

“I don’t  _ know _ , Amethyst… but let’s give it a try anyway.”

Peridot paces nervously across the field. She’s eyeing her board-- the survival of it, as well as around 67% of her other possessions, was nothing short of miraculous-- for the seventeenth time that day, checking her calculations. The positioning, the building materials, the supports… Everything has to be perfect. It  _ has _ to be.

Pumpkin nuzzles up to her legs at her obvious distress. For once, all the living gourd does is frustrate her further. She could grumble her usual unintelligible, but she can’t be mad at Pumpkin, so she settles for an exasperated sigh instead. 

The hand on her shoulder is what finally calms her down. “Peri?” Lapis asks, and Peridot turns to face her. The Genuine Lapis Lazuli Smile has grown to become much more common than she ever thought possible, but she still cherishes every occurance of it, including right now. Against the late afternoon sun, her presence radiates calm-- again, not something she expected when she first saw the ocean gem passing her ship in space.

She had learn to expect the unexpected.

“You got this, Per,” Lapis says, her hand giving an affectionate squeeze to Peridot’s shoulder. It’s a gesture that communicates so many things, things she tries to communicate right back with a proud smile as she leans into the walkie-talkie.

“Clod Squad, go!”

Across the grassy field, the swarm of Pebbles on loan from Homeworld get to work.

* * *

 

She falters when repeating those magic words for the first time when the Diamond Authority announces the mandatory implementation of limb enhancers.

Giving a gem add-ons to their limbs was tricky; even Homeworld’s greatest thinkers spent many centuries figuring out how from the middle of Era 1 all the way until early Era 2. How would opposable fingers work? How would they get the weight just right? These questions were at the forefront of every gem with even a passing interest in engineering for a long time. When an upper-crust from Yellow’s court finally cracked the code, the collective response was more a sigh of relief than anything else.

The answer to working limb enhancers was, of course, personalization. Every set had to match perfectly with the gem they were to be used by, painstakingly calibrated and keyed specifically to their own stone. This was accomplished in a way that proved extremely controversial: through the refraction of new, foreign photons through the gem.

The light refracts. Its rays bend through the gem, trying to remove those perfect imperfections. And then the gem and the enhancers are compatible.

Peridot, and everyone else she knew, though, got the same thing when their limb enhancers were activated: she called it  _ the itch _ .

It was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. It said that something that should not have been there was there, mingling with her body. Mingling with her light.

The first thing she noticed when Steven unbubbled her was that the itch was gone.

 

“GRRRRH!”  
She kicks sand and dirt with a small foot before collapsing on the ground, hugging her knees. She _knew_ something was off, _knew_ something was wrong, and she gave the go-ahead anyway. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

A shadow comes over her. It’s Lapis, looking concerned. She’s been looking like that a lot lately, ever since she came back to finally, properly join the Crystal Gems. “Peridot, what’s wrong? Did something else get messed up because it got covered in water?”

Peridot looks down and quickly pushes up her glasses to rub her eyes and prevent any oncoming tears. “N-no, it’s just… The corner, Lapis!”  
Lapis sits down next to her, bewildered. “The… Corner?”

Peridot gestures behind the two of them, towards the new barn. Building it had been a labor of love, with design input by Peridot, Lapis, and even Greg and Andy. It was better than ever: more storage space, a bigger smaller-than-average lake, the works. All it took was some Pebbles who volunteered to come in from Homeworld and construction was a cinch.

But of course, something was wrong. “The northwest corner of the barn! I gave the Pebbles the wrong building material, so it’s-- it’s the wrong color!”

Lapis looked at her for a long moment, her confusion turning into yet another Genuine Lapis Lazuli Smile as she broke into a giggling fit. Peridot looks at her, glowering.

But looking at Lapis and the barn behind her, she can’t help but join in. And soon, she’s out of her defensive fetal position, splaying her feet out in front of her as she laughs. 

Finally, Lapis stops, turning once again to face the small green gem. “Peridot, I-- I know that it seems like a big deal to you. So, that means it  _ is _ a big deal. But… I kinda like it.”

Peridot pulls her knees back up. “Lapis, how could you  _ say _ that!? It throws  _ everything _ off!”

They lock eyes, a blue blush rising to Lapis’ cheeks. “It’s different. Different like you.”

Peridot doesn’t know how to respond, now blushing furiously herself. Just as she’s about to say something, Lapis pipes up again.

“I’m sorry. For leaving.”

It is at that moment that Peridot decides to throw all caution to the wind. The way the barn came out was an unexpected outcome. So was staying on Earth. So are the feelings she has right now, hearing Lapis speak.

She leans in and presses a soft kiss to the taller gem’s lips. It’s not a kiss that says “I forgive you”-- it’s a kiss that says she has nothing to apologize for.

Light enters their gems, moving across their lattices at a speed not even a Diamond could fully comprehend.

The light, already refracted, refracts once again. Blue and green mix and intermingle, their rays bending through each other’s gem, perfect imperfections. Slowly, those lines of light that were once two come together, forming a singular body.

This is how a fusion is born. A conscious manifestation of love, in every sense of the words.

In front of the barn, the new gem takes a deep breath. And this time, one half of her doesn’t feel the itch anymore.

 


End file.
